Use It Or Lose It

A year and a half ago, a good friend named John gave me a beautiful cashmere sweater. I saved it waiting for the right occasion. Last night, I wore it for the first time to dinner with another good friend named John. Tonight when putting it away, I noticed two moth holes in back. I'm mortified that I wore it out. After that sets in, remorse bout not wearing it sets in. The old cliche about the "sweater in the closet that one saves for that special time" really came true. I told myself I wasn't going to do that anymore, but I failed on that. I'm upset with myself for repeatedly doing this over and over, even though I make a conscious effort not to.

I don't know whether it comes from a fear of not having things that I cherish or enjoy or it has to do with holding onto the memory and the moment. If it's the latter, then it's really silly. If it's the former, I still wear a pair of red Converse Chuck Taylors from 7 years ago for fear of not being able to afford new ones (really silly).

OK, gratuitous porn for having put you through reading that ;)

Tonight I broke another darn tea cup. I'm really into a company called Jenaer that makes glassware in Germany. Actually, the glass is made by Schott, which is the company that produces glass for B+W filters, which I use on all of my lenses. I've got a thing for stuff made in Germany. After discovering the moth holes in my sweater, I pulled down something in a kitchen cabinet which slammed my last Jenaer teacup onto my kitchen floor. Not an insurmountable loss, as I ordered two more cups and saucers, but just bummed me out. They are one of those little things that I really enjoy and am proud to serve tea to my guests with.